What better way to celebrate the Halloween season than with the first-class productions of Ballet West’s Dracula and Pioneer Theatre Company’s The Rocky Horror Show. BALLET WEST: DRACULA By Chris Myers In 1997, choreographer Ben Stevenson chose to celebrate the centennial of Bram Stoker’s Dracula with a ballet adaptation that would not have seemed out … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: On Friday, Oct. 27, at 11 a.m., from the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, The Utah Review will live blog the world premiere of Radio Hour Episode 17: Sherlock Holmes and The Final Problem, produced by Plan-B Theatre and KUER-FM’s RadioWest program. Tune into KUER-FM 90.1 and follow The Utah Review during the … Read more
Earlier this year, playwright Morag Shepherd directed the excellent Pygmalion Theatre Company production of Debora Threedy’s Mountain Meadows, which was about historian Juanita Brooks’ search for the truth behind the Mountain Meadows massacre, one of the darkest stains in Mormon history. With news of the massacre, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints institutionalized … Read more
Joining what has been an outstanding start for several independent and local theatrical companies this season, the Salt Lake Acting Company has scored magnificently with Sarah Shippobotham’s solo show Can I Say Yes to That Dress?, directed by Jamie Rocha Allan. Channeling herself through the character she has written as Sîan Jones, Shippobotham presents a … Read more
In the adroit hands of The Sting and Honey Company, the recent production of David Mamet’s Oleanna, a controversial 1992 two-hander drama, was a riveting success. Directed by Javen Tanner, artistic director and founder of the company, who stars as John, a university professor up for tenure, and Suni Gigliotti as Carol, a student, the play … Read more
PIONEER THEATRE COMPANY: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express has remained resilient. It is surprising for a 1934 novel that more often than not has been denigrated by contemporary scholars of literature as lowbrow along with what they perceived as insensitive portrayals of cultural and ethnic stereotypes they contend … Read more
Within the last year, a spate of celebrities have publicly announced themselves as gender fluid. One might be tempted to assess this as a new phenomenon about new experiences, especially as there are now available a wide-ranging set of vocabulary terms for one to express their identity. But, for those individuals who came of age … Read more
Coming off a previous season that produced several momentous takeaways highlighting Salt Lake City’s enviable status as an important and discerning cultural destination, Pioneer Theatre Company (PTC) is offering seven productions for its 62nd season which not only celebrate canonical contemporary classics but also inflect them with just enough twists to stimulate fresh perspectives for … Read more
Early in Tito Livas’ new play, Squeak, the main character tells the audience emphatically that they have a very active brain. “Sometimes I can’t control what I do or what I say because there’s SO MUCH GOING ON IN HERE and my feelings can be pretty big,” Squeak says. When Squeak feels overwhelmed, they imagine … Read more
Formerly known as Rose Exposed, the annual fast paced one-hour show of the six resident companies in the Rose Wagner Center for Performing Arts has been rebranded as Mix Tape, frankly a better title for the event. The show will go on Aug. 26 at 8 p.m. at the Jeanné Wagner Theatre in The Rose. … Read more